Olympic boxing judges under fire amid 'fix' claims

Japan's Satoshi Shimizu, in red, reacts as Azerbaijan's Magomed Abdulhamidov, in blue, goes down to his knees in their Men's Bantam (56kg) Round of 16 boxing match during the London 2012 Olympic Games on August 1, 2012.

Murad Sezer / Reuters

Abdulhamidov, left, reacts after being awarded victory over Shimizu.

Reuters reports — Japan's bantamweight Satoshi Shimizu, trailing by seven points going into the last round against Magomed Abdulhamidov, knocked the Azerbaijani down six times, the first of which he struggled to get up from. The judges scored the round 10-10, handing Shimizu two extra points for a warning against Abdulhamidov, who propped himself up against the top rope as the referee raised his hand in victory.

The Japanese boxer's team leader Masamori Yamane accused the referee of trying to support Abdulhamidov by attempting to fix his headgear. After deliberating for over an hour, AIBA said that under its rules, the referee should have given the Azerbaijani fighter "at least" three standing counts which would have resulted in the contest being stopped. They, therefore, overturned the result, handing victory to Shimizu, who was staggered by the original decision hours earlier. Continue reading the full story.

Murad Sezer / Reuters

Shimizu reacts after losing.

Murad Sezer / Reuters

Shimizu reacts as he walks from the ring after losing the bout. He was later awarded victory.